The Department of Archaeology was established in August 2008 under the umbrella of the School of Cultural Heritage and Creative Technologies, Hazara University, Mansehra.The chief aims of the establishment of the department of archaeology were; firstly, to impart quality education both at undergraduate and graduate levels; secondly, to explore the rich archaeological heritage of the country in general and of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in particular; thirdly to contribute to the research repute of the university and lastly to promote and preserve the rich cultural heritage of the region.
Academic and Research Contributions
The Department of Archaeology runs post-graduate (PhD, M.Phil and MA) and undergraduate (BS - four years) programmes in Archaeology courses with the number of students growing in each academic session. Recently, department has launched 2-year Master degree programme and a 6- month Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Cultural Heritage Management in collaboration with University of Leicester (UK). The Department of Archaeology is the leading research department of the Hazara University and has been contributing tremendously to the academic repute of the university. The Department is constantly growing in stature and is heavily engaged in research activities with international universities and organizations. We have the honour to publish the first ever Journal of Hazara University entitled "Pakistan Heritage".
A great number of academic and research sessions are organised by the department. Conferences, seminars, workshops, guest lectures, field trainings are regularly organised. Such activities are very helpful to create the academic and research environment of the department in particular and university in general.Museums of the Department
There are two Museums i.e. Abbott Museum, Abbottabad and Hazara University Museum both running under the Department of Archaeology. Both these Museums house a good collection of archaeological and ethnological materials. The archaeological artefacts have come through the explorations and excavations conducted by the Department of Archaeology as well as through donations by the local community; while the ethnological materials displayed in these museums have come through purchase and donations.